Scarborough River - Misplaced Pages

River in the United States

Scarborough River

Location
Country	United States
Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Scarborough, Maine

Mouth
• location	Saco Bay

Scarborough River is a 3.7-mile-long (6.0 km) coastal estuary and river draining through the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine. It empties into Saco Bay between Pine Point Beach and Western Beach and marks the bay's northern end. The main tributaries are the Nonesuch River, Dunstan River, and Libby River, as well as smaller brooks and streams.

In its natural state, it was a sediment sink for Saco Bay, storing sediment migrating northward up the bay from the beaches to the south and ultimately from the Saco River. The channel migrated regularly in response to natural events; as it did so, abandoned sand banks would replenish the sand on both Pine Point Beach to the south and Western and Ferry beaches to the north.

In the early 17th century, Christopher Levett gave the name of the river, or perhaps the marshes it drains, as Owascoag, after the Abenaki Indian name. The English fishing fleet offshore in 1624 was over 50 vessels, and the shores of the river were settled by fishermen and their families early in the period of English settlement; when the primary road in Maine ran along the coastline for its entire length, a ferry operated across the mouth of the river, running from Pine Point Beach to Ferry Beach.

In the late 19th century, Little River Inlet, a tidal reentrant located at the south end of Pine Point Beach, was dammed and diverted into the Scarborough River. In 1962, the Army Corps of Engineers stabilized the river channel, in part by building a jetty at the southern edge of the river mouth. This has allowed a stable river channel for use by those fishing and pleasure boats harbored in the river and for occasional launches from a town-managed dock. The stabilized channel gradually fills with sediment, and has needed to be dredged roughly every five years. Materials from the 2004 dredging were deposited on Western Beach in imitation of the natural sediment flow.

References

U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed June 30, 2011
^ Slovinsky, Peter (2006-05-31). "Beach Nourishment at Western Beach, Scarborough, Maine: Benefits for the Beaches and the Birds". State of Maine: Department of Conservation: Maine Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
Sylvester, Herbert Milton (1907). The Sokoki Trail. Boston: Stanhope Press. pp. 306–307, 376.
Moulton, Augustus F. (1895). "The Settlement of Scarborough". Collections and Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society, Second Series, Volume VI. Portland, Maine: Maine Historical Society. p. 437.
Roger Allen, Janine Reardon, Tracy White, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Toomey (2001-01-29). "East Grand Beach". University of Maine. p. 535. Retrieved 2008-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
"Chapter 534: An act to incorporate the Little River Dyking Company". Acts and Resolves of the Fiftieth Legislature, of the State of Maine. Augusta, Maine: Maine Secretary of State / Sprague, Owen & Nash, printers to the state. 1871. Retrieved 2008-08-11.

43°33′42″N 70°22′11″W / 43.5616°N 70.3696°W / 43.5616; -70.3696

Rivers of Maine by drainage system

Bay of Fundy

Passamaquoddy Bay

Saint John River Watershed

Casco Bay

Fore River Watershed	Fore River Long Creek Stroudwater River South Branch Stroudwater River
Presumpscot River Watershed	Bear River Chute River Crooked River East Branch Piscataqua River Little River Muddy River North Branch Little River Northwest River Piscataqua River Pleasant River Presumpscot River Songo River Sticky River Tenny River
Others	Cousins River Harraseeket River Little River New Meadows River Royal River

Gulf of Maine

Blue Hill Bay (Union River Watershed)	Bog River East Branch Union River Little Bog River Middle Branch Union River Union River West Branch Union River
Chandler Bay	Sandy River
Dennys Bay	Dennys River Hardscrabble River Orange River
Englishman Bay	Chandler River East Branch Chandler River Englishman River
Frenchman Bay	Jordan Stream Skillings River
Harrington Bay	Harrington River Mill River
Little River Watershed	Little River (Drakes Island) Merriland River
Machias Bay (Machias River Watershed)	Crooked River East Machias River Machias River Maine River Middle River West Branch Machias River
Mousam River Watershed	Littlefield River Middle Branch Mousam River Mousam River
Narraguagus Bay (Narraguagus River Watershed)	Little Narraguagus River Narraguagus River Spring River West Branch Narraguagus River (Cherryfield) West Branch Narraguagus River (Hancock County)
Pleasant Bay (Pleasant River Watershed)	Little River Pleasant River West Branch Pleasant River Western Little River
Piscataqua River Watershed	Great Works River Little River Neoutaquet River Piscataqua River Salmon Falls River
Sheepscot River Watershed	Back River Cross River Dyer River Marsh River Sasanoa River Sheepscot River West Branch Sheepscot River
Wohoa Bay	Indian River Southwest Branch Indian River West River
Others	Batson River Benjamin River Cape Neddick River Damariscotta River Johns River Jordan River Josias River Kennebunk River Little River (Boothbay) Little River (Georgetown) Little River (Goosefare Bay) Little River (York) Morse River Ogunquit River Pemaquid River Sprague River Webhannet River York River

Merrymeeting Bay

Androscoggin River Watershed

Kennebec River Watershed

Muscongus Bay

Saint George River Watershed	Back River Dead River East Branch Oyster River Mill River Oyster River Saint George River West Branch Oyster River
Others	Back River (Medomak) Back River (Meduncook) Goose River Medomak River Meduncook River

Penobscot Bay

Penobscot River Watershed

Others

Saco Bay

Saco River Watershed	Charles River Cold River Hancock Brook Kezar River Little Cold River Little Ossipee River Little River Little Saco River Mad River Middle Branch Mad River Old Course Saco River Ossipee River Saco River Shepards River South Branch Mad River South River Tenmile River West Branch Tenmile River
Others	Dunstan River Libby River Nonesuch River Scarborough River Spurwink River

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